Floronius, privileged soldier of the 7th legion, was here. The women did not know of his presence. Only six women came to know, too few for such a stallion.

I screwed the barmaid

Secundus likes to screw boys.

Anyone who wants to defecate in this place is advised to move along. If you act contrary to this warning, you will have to pay a penalty. Children must pay [number missing] silver coins. Slaves will be beaten on their behinds.

I've been there twice and both times were not long enough to see all I wanted. If you get a chance to go, do it.

That said, what many don't know is that a lot of the stuff is reconstructed. A good bit of the original structures were damaged in the early excavations, which were hardly scientific and more on the lines of just looting. Also, you have to keep two things in mind.

First, while a lot was preserved under the ash, once the ash cover was removed and the structures were exposed to the elements, they began to deteriorate. This was not just due to weather, but the increase in industrial pollution, largely from the 20th century on and no real active measures taken to combat that.

Second, and this is a dirty little secret many don't want to talk about, is that in WW II, the Allies bombed the living shiat out of sections of Pompeii, mistaking it for a German position. Large sections had to be reconstructed, hence, it is not original. Remember seeing the casts of the bodies? the original on site museum took a direst hit from an Allied bomb and 3/4 of those casts are gone from that. Some survived. Some casts on display are actually casts of the original casts, but they won't let on about that.

Still, it is a great place to visit and I'd go back in a heartbeat if I had the money now.

I decided to decline the $100 tour package and do it on my own. So I walked off the ship, found the train station and after navigating a difficult self-serve ticket machine, boarded a train.

Turns out I bought the wrong ticket. I only found out when a conductor came though the car, told me (apparently) I had bought the wrong ticket and wrote me a ticket that was worth $100 US at the time. I had to show the ticket to another US tourist so I could understand what he was saying.

So I bolted at the next station, went back to the ticket counter where there was an attendant, and bought the proper ticket.

After an enjoyable day there, I went to find a train home and wanted to get a bottle of water. Rather than just getting a bottle of water, I had a "broker" accost me and bring me to the front of the line, where he demanded his commission for the $2.00 bottle of water they sold me.

On the way home, I made the mistake of getting off two stops too early. I ended up walking a mile back to the ship through alley's filled with giant piles of burning yellow pages.

So, is this a project to restore it to the condition it was in in 78 AD, or to when it was rediscovered? A full restoration back to Roman times would be pretty cool, but it seems like the kind of thing that would piss archaeologists off.

Floronius, privileged soldier of the 7th legion, was here. The women did not know of his presence. Only six women came to know, too few for such a stallion.

I screwed the barmaid

Secundus likes to screw boys.

Anyone who wants to defecate in this place is advised to move along. If you act contrary to this warning, you will have to pay a penalty. Children must pay [number missing] silver coins. Slaves will be beaten on their behinds.

I was just there the other day. The place needs some work. The fact that the bodies are displayed behind a cage in a warehouse full of other items found at the site was a little weird. I've heard that Herculaneum is much better. I'll check that out one of these days, since I have dubious privilege of living in Naples for the next couple of years.

I don't know if Pompeii was ever "in dire trouble" back in 79 AD. Didn't it start out hunky-dory, skip the "dire trouble" part and go straight to doomed? I thought that was what was most famous about it.

dragonchild:I don't know if Pompeii was ever "in dire trouble" back in 79 AD. Didn't it start out hunky-dory, skip the "dire trouble" part and go straight to doomed? I thought that was what was most famous about it.

That's why you are a fark doormat. Doom comes in stages when done right, and not an all of a sudden explosion. Except when the volcano has really nice nipples.

rabidarmadillo24:I was just there the other day. The place needs some work. The fact that the bodies are displayed behind a cage in a warehouse full of other items found at the site was a little weird. I've heard that Herculaneum is much better. I'll check that out one of these days, since I have dubious privilege of living in Naples for the next couple of years.

Herculaneum is better because, if anything, it is off the beaten path as compared to Pompeii. Not near as many tourists but the same style frescos can be studied. The town is very, very dirty with piles of garbage everywhere, but there are very good cheap cafes all over. Some of the best pizza and salad I had was in a little restaurant there.

dragonchild:I don't know if Pompeii was ever "in dire trouble" back in 79 AD. Didn't it start out hunky-dory, skip the "dire trouble" part and go straight to doomed? I thought that was what was most famous about it.

It was in dire trouble for awhile, they just didn't realize it until they were doomed.